When planning our trip along the Canning Stock Route in our Suzuki Jimny, we quickly realised something: weight matters — a lot. The Jimny has a maximum payload (GVM) of just 340 kg, and once you add two people, water, fuel, food, and gear… we’re well over. In fact, 432 kg. Oops.

1. So we had two choices:

2. Go overloaded and risk breaking stuff, or

Use a small, lightweight trailer and stay legal — and safe.

We chose the trailer. Not because we love towing (we don’t), but because staying under GVM means our suspension, shocks, and driveline aren’t being punished every kilometre. And guess what? Our trailer setup adds just 283 kg to the Jimny, comfortably under GVM. Bonus: it also means Jasper gets to bring a few creature comforts along.

A couple of notes about the numbers:

There’s plenty of buffer built in. For example, 20 L of petrol weighs around 15–16 kg, but I rounded it up to include the jerry can — probably a little on the high side.

Food works out to be less than 2 kg per person per day, and we definitely don’t have 10 kg of clothing — but better to have a little fat in the numbers than not enough.

The extra 10 kg listed for the fuel tank is because the Jimny’s tare weight already includes about 30 L of fuel.

And yes, I’m aware the Jimny unbraked limit is 350 kg, but we’ll be filling up just before we hit the trail. That means we’ll only be near that limit for the first couple of days — we get lighter every day. With an average speed of 15–35 km/h, I’m not too worried about braking distance being an issue.

People keep asking me: “Where on earth did you get the idea to tow a tiny trailer behind a Jimny… on the CSR?” Fair question. It’s not exactly in the standard 4WD playbook.

So here’s the honest origin story.

When I first bought the Jimny for adventures with my son, I did what every new Jimny owner does: I went straight to YouTube, typed in “Jimny overland”, and fell head-first into a rabbit hole.

And that’s how I stumbled across this  a bloke named Andrew St Pierre White. (Yes, that Andrew. The same person giving me a gentle nudge against towing a trailer now. We’ll get to that irony in a second…)

Anyway, near the end of one of his New Zealand Jimny videos, he casually mentioned using a small trailer.

My first reaction? “Pffft… no way.”

But then I paused. Here’s a guy who’s been doing “a bit” of travelling (translation: more kilometres off-road than I’ve driven in my entire life). Maybe… just maybe… the idea wasn’t totally ridiculous.

So I thought: “You know what? I’ll load up my little trailer, take it to a proper technical trail, drive it like a muppet, and watch it explode. That’ll be the end of it.”

Except… it didn’t explode. It didn’t fail. It didn’t even complain.

No matter what I reasonably tried — steep hills, side-leaning tracks, creek beds, hours of corrugations — the little trailer just followed along faithfully like a happy duckling.

And that’s how it all started. A random YouTube video. A silly idea. A test that should’ve ended with a broken trailer… but didn’t.

So yes — the very person now raising an eyebrow at my plan is the same one who planted the seed in my brain in the first place.

Life’s funny like that.

And to be clear: I’m grateful for the pushback. It forces me to think harder, plan better, and keep safety as priority one. But credit where credit’s due — the “trailer madness” didn’t come from me. I’m just following the breadcrumbs.

Your trailer needs to be compact, light, and tough. Think minimalist.
We aimed to keep ours unbraked, single axle, and under 350 kg fully loaded. That’s light enough for the Jimny to tow safely without wrecking itself — or us.

Chassis

• Fully welded steel chassis with reinforced suspension hangers.

• Reinforced drawbar with a quality off-road coupling. (We haven’t needed one, but they do look cool.)

Suspension

• Leaf springs: simple, strong, and fixable with a hammer and a bit of hope.

• Shock absorbers: nice-to-have, but if your trailer’s light, not a dealbreaker. Tyre pressures are absolutely crucial!

Jockey Wheel

• Heavy-duty swing-up if you must.

• Or go lighter: we ditched it altogether. Every kilo counts.

Locks & Security (Optional)

• Hitch lock: keeps it safe at caravan parks or motels.

• Lockable cage: keeps swags safe from thieves and thorny bushes. Overgrown tracks love relocating things from the trailer to the track — or ripping them to shreds.

Tyres & Wheels

• Ideally, same size as the Jimny for emergency swaps.

• LT (Light Truck) tyres are non-negotiable — regular ones won’t survive corrugations or thorny bushes.

Our decision:
We stuck with standard trailer hubs and LT tyres. They’re not interchangeable with the Jimny, but upgrading would have cost AUD $1500–2000 — more than our fuel budget! To make it work, you’d need to swap hubs, wheels, tyres and studs — three times over. This way, we can roll into any outback mechanic’s shop and get help without needing a specialist “Jimny trailer wheel fairy.”

Simple, modular, secure. Nothing should bounce, rattle, or slide.

• Jerry can holders or aviation rail tie-down system (our choice)

• 20L NATO-style jerry cans – the only ones we found that don’t leak, smell, or make you swear when opening

• Marine carpet under jerry cans – to protect them from rubbing through on corrugations

• Ratchet straps – never bungee cords for heavy objects.

You're thousands of kilometers from the nearest workshop, so pack like your trailer depends on it — because it does.

• 1x Spare wheel & tyre

• Wheel bearings, hub + grease + tools

• Leaf spring center bolts & U-bolts (if using leaf setup)

• Spare leaf spring set (we only carry these for the CSR)

I swapped out the old 5-leaf, 750 kg spring pack for a set of 3-leaf, 300 kg springs — and now the suspension actually moves (always an improvement).
The springs I used are these: Huntsman 3-Leaf 45mm Trailer Eye Slipper Springs. I’ll be ordering another pair as spares, just in case.

The biggest handling improvement, though, came from getting the tyre pressures right.
To work it out, I used the Jimny’s front axle as a baseline: about 500 kg on the front running 23 psi → that’s roughly 0.046 psi/kg. Multiply that by the trailer’s 350 kg weight = ~16 psi for normal road use.  On the picture below you can see the nice footprint even with highway pressure.
Off-road (sand, soft stuff, etc.) I just start at half highway pressures and adjust from there.

I also rerouted the electric plug to the top of the towbar so it won’t get smashed by rocks. Still not sure what Suzuki engineers were thinking putting it in such a vulnerable spot .

One of the most common comments I get when people see our setup is:
“Mate, you have to replace that tow ball with a proper off-road hitch!”

And honestly? They’re right.
A proper off-road hitch is absolutely the better solution — stronger articulation and built for the exact kind of punishment the Canning Stock Route dishes out.

But… is what we have good enough for our specific setup?

Let’s look at the reality, not the theory.

1. Tiny Trailer, Tiny Car, Huge Departure Angle

We’re not towing a 1.3-ton hybrid camper with 35" tyres.
We have a very small trailer behind a very small car — a Jimny with a naturally excellent departure angle.

2. Real-World Testing Beats Keyboard Theories

People love telling me: “That tow ball will fail first bump!”

I’d happily believe them… except we’ve done multiple technical tracks where it just didn’t.

We’re talking:

• 45° climbs and descents

• creek beds where the car’s tow bar hits the ground

• the trailer leaning past 45° sideways

• off-camber rock steps

• tight turns with full articulation

And the tow ball? Still fine. Zero binding, zero weird noises, zero drama.

So saying “it doesn’t work”… doesn’t match our lived experience.

3. Would I Upgrade? ABSOLUTELY.

If money was no object, I’d bolt on a off-road hitch immediately.

But here’s the honest part:

Every upgrade must be cleared by “the boss” (my wife).

“I need this because the current one is dangerous and doesn’t work”
= approved.

“I need this because it’s technically better than what already works”
= somehow ends up in the absolutely-not pile.

So for now, with the testing we’ve done and our ultra-light trailer, the current setup is considered good enough by the household CFO.

4. “It’s not even that much money, just do it!”

Great! If you truly believe that…

Get in touch and I’ll send you my shipping address. Bolt-on preferred — no welding required. 

Final Thoughts

I’m not saying a basic tow ball is better than a true off-road hitch. I’m not even saying you should copy what we’re doing.

I am saying that:

• our trailer is tiny,

• our car is tiny,

• our loads are tiny,

• we’ve tested it hard,

• and it hasn’t let us down.

That said, if the day comes when I finally convince the boss… I’ll happily update this page with: “You were all right, and I finally upgraded.”

Until then:
what we have works — and we know it works because we’ve actually used it.

• Weight first, comfort second – it's easy to creep past 400 kg “just adding a few things.”

• Avoid fragile or complex gear – if it can’t be fixed with duct tape, zip ties, or fencing wire, leave it behind.

We didn’t build a monster off-road trailer. We built a trailer that works for a Jimny. And funny enough, when you don’t bolt on 300 kg worth of accessories, suddenly a trailer doesn't seem so crazy anymore...

Yes, I’m well aware that you can get a GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) upgrade and with that you are allowed to carry a bit more. But here's the thing:

While I’m not an automotive engineer, I can’t help but ask: what does a GVM upgrade actually involve?

In most cases, it means installing stiffer springs and maybe beefier shocks—which, let’s be honest, don’t actually carry weight, they just control the motion. No chassis reinforcements, no beefed-up axles, no structural changes. Just... stiffer springs. And suddenly your Jimny is supposed to legally and safely carry a few hundred extra kilos?

Look, Suzuki has been building the Jimny for decades. If they thought it was safe (and smart) to let people haul around extra weight, they probably would have installed those heavier-duty springs at the factory and given you a neat little warranty card to go with them. Speaking of which… how’s that Suzuki warranty looking after a GVM upgrade? Thought so.

Now—before anyone gets defensive—I absolutely see the value in upgrading your suspension, especially the shocks. In fact, I’d say that’s where the real performance gains are. We’re not doing that yet purely because of budget. But we are packing a spare pair of shocks for the CSR, because let’s face it: if anything’s going to get punished out there, it’s the tyres and the suspension.

So yes, I know of GVM upgrades—but for our trip, we’re choosing a different approach: pack light, think smart, and carry (some) spares.